


A Quiet Life

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9342833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: "The Doctor and Rose Tyler. There was a time that one could hardly pick up a newspaper or go online without seeing their picture and reading the latest rumors about them."





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still trying to move all my fics over here - it's proving harder than I had anticipated. I wrote this ages ago in appreciation of someone well-known reblogging every single Nine x Rose thing I'd written. Bless them.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler. There was a time that one could hardly pick up a newspaper or go online without seeing their picture and reading the latest rumors about them. They were the sweethearts of London, beating out the Prince and his fiancee by a slightly embarrassing margin. The two of them jealously guarded their privacy, but in true 21st century style this meant that the reports on them were all the more sought after.

Popular opinion was that they would never work. Everyone and their mother had an opinion, some advice, a voice to add to the general clamor. Most of the dissent focused on the difference in their stations; he owned TARDIS Electronics and his brooding stare and leather jacket made him Great Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor, she served coffee during the day and alcohol on Saturday night and had never finished school. The subject of their age difference was also a beloved topic. She was just barely past her twenty-first birthday and he celebrated his fortieth two weeks before the wedding. "Gold digger" was by far the nicest thing that was said.

The story of exactly how they met was always greatly embellished. Some sources claimed he'd hired her as a call girl (though there was no proof she'd actually worked as one), others insisted she was an intelligence spy who infiltrated his offices (how she managed that was a bit fuzzy) and seduced the boss. Very few people knew the real story and those who did weren't talking, despite numerous offers and attempted bribes. One reporter even tried to seduce her mother (a decision that derailed his career and may or may not have ended up with his broken nose; no one messed with Jackie Tyler and got away with it). Jack Harkness, close friend to both the Doctor and Rose, was always happy to talk to anyone, but there were some secrets he guarded even with the added incentive of alcohol and one-night stands. Requests for an interview with the couple were always spectacularly denied. 

Any pictures that an intrepid photographer managed to successfully capture and publish (the Doctor was not a fan of the paparazzi) depicted a tender and loving relationship. The couple was always touching in some way whether it was her arm through his or their intertwined hands or his arm around her waist. The Doctor was rarely reported to be seen in public without Rose, and on the rare occasion that he was his expression did not invite familiarity. Regardless of all of this, the rumor that they were doomed was a favorite topic with near-constant articles ranging from supposed arguments to one or both of them cheating (sometimes at the same time with the same person). There was never any concrete evidence to support these speculations and the longer the couple lasted, the more silly the reports appeared until eventually they died away completely. 

Their wedding was a private affair that was somehow kept from the press until the couple was safely out of the country. Instant speculation about the reasons behind the secrecy fueled the rumor mill for at least a month and when it became obvious that Rose was not, in fact, pregnant, many reporters were sorely criticized (and many a betting man was out several hundred pounds). The articles concerning their honeymoon detailed tropical paradises, expenses to rival the royal couple, and a world tour (everyone was shocked when it was eventually revealed that every detail of these reports was completely true). 

Gradually though, interest died away, especially as the two of them continued to live discreetly, and the couple found their way to the front pages less and less often, interest resurging only during major events: when the Doctor sold TARDIS Computers, when they had a daughter, when they moved out of London, retiring to a quiet home in the country. Reporters focused on other couples, other relationships, finally allowing the Doctor and Rose the privacy they had been looking for. 

Twenty years after their wedding an offer was sent to the magazine that had always been the biggest offender for an exclusive interview with the couple. The interview was shot at their private mansion (a sprawling affair with twisting corridors and secret passages that was the envy of every architect) and lasted twenty-three minutes. The Doctor was nearing sixty and though his hair was longer and distinctly grey, he was still wearing his leather jacket. He had one arm wrapped around Rose, whose blonde hair and sweet smile belied her age. They talked about how they met (he stumbled into her coffee shop one winter afternoon and quite literally fell at her feet), how they stayed above the gossip (it wasn't true and they didn't care), and their advice for other couples (hers: communication, his: frequent shags (this earned him a well-placed elbow jab)).

The Doctor and Rose Tyler. They don't make the front pages anymore. The public has moved on to bigger and better fish and the only people who want pictures or interviews now are their grandkids making reports for school. No longer are they the sweethearts of London, but they dance in the library late at night or go on walks through the rose gardens he planted for her. They are still jealous of their privacy, but it has more to do with the desire to enjoy their remaining days together than it is about any nosy photographer. And the rumors that they are still just as ridiculously in love as they were back in the day are absolutely verifiable.


End file.
